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Wednesday, September 3, 2025
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Laos Starts New Academic Year Amid Worsening Teacher Shortage

This Week

As schools across Laos reopened on 1 September for the new academic year, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone urged the public to embrace the new semester with optimism while acknowledging the challenges still facing the nation’s schools.

In his message, the prime minister described the first day of school as “an important event for the education, science, and sports sector”. 

He reaffirmed the government’s long-standing pledge to put education “before other tasks” and at the center of national development.

Sonexay praised progress achieved over the past year, including improvements in school infrastructure, expanded school meal programs, and measures to reduce dropout rates. 

Education Gains Overshadowed by Teacher Shortages

However, the prime minister warned that pressing issues remain: high dropout levels, teacher shortages, and the urgent need to expand vocational and higher education enrollment.

The teacher shortage in particular has become a defining challenge for Laos as the new semester begins.

During the government’s monthly cabinet meeting in late August, ministers prioritized education alongside measures to stabilize the economy and repair infrastructure. 

The Ministry of Education and Sports was instructed to ensure a smooth start to the school year by addressing staff shortages. 

One immediate step is the appointment of long-serving volunteer teachers as civil servants, especially in rural areas, enabling them to receive a steady salary.

Soldiers Sent to Ease Severe Rural Teacher Shortfalls

In many provinces, schools are severely understaffed, leaving classrooms without qualified teachers. To provide an immediate stopgap, authorities have turned to an unusual solution: enlisting soldiers to serve as substitute teachers.

The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education and Sports announced in June that 2,000 soldiers will be trained and deployed to schools in hard-to-reach villages. 

The program includes specialized teacher training and offers rank promotions and financial incentives to participating military personnel.

Several provinces have already begun implementing the initiative. 

In April, Phongsaly and Luang Prabang launched programs to collect data on the worst-affected schools and prepare officers for training. Those who complete the course will receive an additional 70 percent of their basic salary as motivation.

Despite these efforts, the scale of the crisis remains stark. In Savannakhet’s Xepon district alone, only nine of 109 schools are fully staffed, leaving more than 500 teaching posts vacant. 

Elsewhere, rural families continue to pull their children out of school due to long travel distances, lack of dormitories, and worsening economic pressures.

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